Sidelines: Champ to defend Carlsbad title

The Carlsbad 5,000, home of the current 5k world records, has announced the professional field for the elite invitational on Sunday. Defending men's champion Maregu Zewdie of Ethiopia will attempt to win back-to-back titles after a thrilling finish in last year's race, in which only two seconds separated the top five finishing times. Zewdie, owner of two team gold medals from the World Cross Country Championships, will be challenged by a group of American runners led by Californian Scott Bauhs.

Bauhs, a two-time national champion at Chico State and a participant in last summer's U.S. Olympic Trials, won his pro racing debut at the Synaptics Elite Athlete 5-K in San Jose with an unofficial time of 13:37, the fastest for an American on the roads last year. He also finished sixth at the 2007 Rock 'n' Roll San Jose half-marathon in 1:03:04, the top U.S. finisher in the race by over a minute.

Kociemba bowls second 300 game

Korbyn Kociemba bowled his second 300 game Monday in the Butte College bowling class.

His previous 300 game came in November. He has been bowling for 18 years and has a 195 average in three leagues.

"It was the first game of the day and I just started throwing strikes," Kociemba said. "The last ball went Brooklyn so I turned away, then everybody started cheering."

Last week, Mike Mattingly bowled a 299 game in the Thursday Nuts and Bolts league on March 26, and Matt Kalkowski also rolled a 299 on March 24 in the Tuesday Valley League for Nor Cal Construction.

Grass volleyball tournament set

The annual Chico State grass volleyball tournament, sponsored by the Wildcat women's volleyball team, is set to take place Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, next to Yolo Hall on the Chico State campus.

The tournament is open to the public. Men's and women's doubles are scheduled for Saturday, May 2, with reverse coed doubles on Sunday, May 3. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, with actual play getting under way at 9:30 a.m. Sunday will also feature a coed costume contest, with a special award to the team with the best costume. Refreshments will be sold at the tournament.

The cost to participate in the tournament is $20 per player per day if you pre-register by Friday, May 1; pre-registration for both days is just $30. Walk-up fees will be $25 per player each day. Registration forms are available online on the Wildcat Athletics Web site (www.chicowildcats.com) and clicking on the women's volleyball link; for more information, contact Wildcat women's volleyball assistant coach Jamie Houle at 898-6180.

CHS team to hold car wash

The Chico High varsity baseball team will be playing in the Cordova Baseball Tournament next week during spring break, and to help cover the costs of the hotel, the Panthers will have a car wash today at the Les Schwab tire store on East Avenue.

Oroville Orcas having sign-ups

The Oroville Orcas swim team's sign-ups began this week at Nelson's Footwear.

The cost is $160 in April, $180 in May and $200 in June. The season runs June 1 through Aug. 2.